Thanks for visiting. On a semi-daily basis we scan Florida's major daily newspapers for significant Florida political news and punditry. We also review the editorial pages and political columnists/pundits for Florida political commentary. The papers we review include: the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Naples News, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and, occasionally, the Florida Times Union; we also review the political news blogs associated with these newspapers.

For each story, column, article or editorial we deem significant, we post at least the headline and link to the piece; the linked headline always appears in quotes. We quote the headline for two reasons: first, to allow researchers looking for the cited piece to find it (if the link has expired) by searching for the original title/headline via a commercial research service. Second, quotation of the original headline permits readers to appreciate the spin from the original piece, as opposed to our spin.

Not that we don't provide spin; we do, and plenty of it. Our perspective appears in post headlines, the subtitles within the post (in bold), and the excerpts from the linked stories we select to quote; we also occasionally provide other links and commentary about certain stories. While our bias should be immediately apparent to any reader, we nevertheless attempt to link to every article, column or editorial about Florida politics in every major online Florida newspaper.

The Blog for Friday, March 01, 2013

"The sky is falling" in Tallahassee

"In its first hearing since Gov. Rick Scott announced his support for Medicaid expansion, a House committee heard state officials Thursday describe a range of complexities they face in enacting new requirements of the federal health care law."

The Office of Insurance Regulation described the “conundrum,” the agency faced in enforcing state regulations on insurance companies looking to comply with federal demands. A lawmaker, Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, said the relationship was “Orwellian,” with federal officials playing the role of “big brother.”

But House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale said Republicans and some business leaders who have long opposed the Affordable Care Act were still chiefly trying to cast changes in the worst possible light.

Nancy Smith: "When asked if he has any plans to challenge Gov. Rick Scott in the 2014 GOP primary, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford mostly said no -- mostly -- but he didn't emphatically rule it out."

Weatherford said he's too busy right now going into the 2013 legislative session to think of such things. He and Scott are friends, Scott is doing a good job, and besides, they agree on most things anyway, Medicaid expansion excepted.

"Two Republicans in the U.S. Senate who have their eyes on the presidency in 2016 -- Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida -- were in the spotlight this month, and it was enough to draw presidential-suitability comparisons." "Marco Rubio Had the Edge on Rand Paul in February".

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "the burden will be on Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders to show why the $6 million stadium naming rights deal with the GEO Group is good for the university. That burden is very heavy."

On Tuesday, Dr. Saunders said she “didn’t know everything” about the Boca Raton-based private prison/detention company. In fact, she appears to know almost nothing, except what she has heard from GEO. Since a GEO public relations executive reportedly deleted critical information about the company from its Wikipedia entry after the stadium deal became public, and since GEO did not confirm or deny reports of that deletion, the company is hardly a credible source.

"A key suspect in a criminal case tied to former Congressman David Rivera will officially switch his plea to guilty in three federal charges for illegal campaign activity. Justin Lamar Sternad’s admission of wrongdoing next Wednesday will be another sign that he’s cooperating with the federal government in its investigation of Rivera." "Suspect in Rivera campaign-finance probe to change plea to guilty".

"Orange County lawmakers agreed Wednesday to support an effort by Reedy Creek Improvement District firefighters to gain a measure of leverage over the Walt Disney World-controlled government. The county’s legislative delegation voted unanimously to send a bill to Tallahassee that would require both the Reedy Creek firefighters’ union and district management to abide by recommendations of an independent mediator when contract negotiations reach an impasse." "Local lawmakers back bid by firefighters to gain some leverage over Walt Disney World’s government".